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Arlan Strangewayes
The arcane mechanik Arlan Strangewayes views every challenge in life and in battle as a puzzle with a corresponding actionable solution. Whether handling an arrogant superior, repairing a hopelessly mangled arcane turbine, or facing a charging Khadoran Juggernaut, Strangewayes discovers and executes the best course of action. He finds the chaos of battle and the complex inner workings of warjacks easier to fathom than military politics, and he boasts of having “solved” many of his most difficult dilemmas just by swinging his enormous mechanikal wrench. Strangewayes is first and foremost a battlefield mechanik. While some of his colleagues enter the fray only reluctantly, Strangewayes seeks out danger. Younger men have often mistaken Arlan’s recklessness in battle as a death wish, but it actually arises from his complete and utter faith in Cygnaran warjacks. With a Defender, a Stormclad, or even a simple Sentinel in front of him, Strangewayes becomes oblivious to peril. He concentrates only on the ’jacks in his charge, watching pressure gauges and weighing the impact of damaged systems, and he stands ready to use his potent magic to enhance the capabilities of these machines. With a little arcane boost, warjacks near him spring into a blur of motion and nimbly evade blows or destructive magic. When not on the battlefield, Strangewayes focuses on lovingly repairing these machines. He takes every damaged armor plate, torn connecting rod, and burst conduit as a personal affront, going to great lengths to restore machines to full functionality. Unlike many arcane mechaniks, Strangewayes prefers to find simple solutions to repairs in the field. Strangewayes ignores many ordinary dangers of combat thanks to the safety afforded him by his massive customized, steam-powered armor. Strangewayes’ armor grants considerable protection and allows him to shrug off explosions or blows that would easily fell an unprotected man. He has become quite comfortable in his armor despite the work involved in keeping it refueled and maintained. He also relies on its enhanced strength to manipulate oversized warjack parts during field repairs. Adding to the armor’s utility, Strangewayes adapted Cygnaran voltaic technology to create an electromechanikal gauntlet that can send forth a powerful electrical surge capable of frying both men and machines. Strangewayes is a paragon of expertise among the field mechaniks serving the Cygnaran Army. Most of its best mechaniks heed his advice, though many find him a grueling taskmaster, unforgiving and prone to calling out the mistakes of others in the most embarrassing way. Even in casual settings Strangewayes comes across as gruff and difficult to please. His eyes bore into anyone addressing him as if suggesting he has more important things to do than waste time in conversation. One might expect a sense of kinship between Arlan Strangewayes and Sebastian Nemo—they have indeed fought and worked together on numerous occasions— but the two men have many differences. Nemo is a warcaster, inventor, and theoretician fascinated by ideas for the future, while Strangewayes is a pragmatic nuts-and-bolts man focused on keeping warjacks running in the here and now. Strangewayes has openly called both the Thunderhead and Dynamo “overly complicated and impractical,” and that has strained the men’s r elationship. Even with his voltaic gauntlet, Strangewayes advocates steam power and has a keen admiration for the older ’jack chassis, particularly those of the Ironclad and the Defender. This has added to his reputation as a curmudgeon, but he nonetheless remains the man every Cygnaran warcaster wants patching his machines back together after a major battle. Category:Warmachine Category:Cygnar Category:Humans